


Welcome to Earth

by mostlylapidotandstuff



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Pearl is salty, not canon as of that will be all, once again i'm posting a work without knowing what's going to happen at the end
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-13 06:50:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11754372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mostlylapidotandstuff/pseuds/mostlylapidotandstuff
Summary: Steven knew all the Rose Quartzes were going to be shattered. He thought maybe he could save just one. Pearl is angry, Amethyst supports him, and Garnet is acting as a mediator. Is Pearl right about the gem being too dangerous? Or can the other gems help her feel entirely at home on Earth?





	1. Persuasion

“Steven, I can’t believe you would be this irresponsible!” Pearl chastised. “Did you even think about the consequences of bringing one of them to Earth?”

Steven stared at the round, pentagon-faceted gem through the pink-tinted bubble that surrounded it. “She was going to die. They’re all going to die if we don’t do something. Can’t we just see how this goes? See how she reacts to the rest of you?”

“I think Steven is right. If this gem is calm and reasonable, then I see no reason why she shouldn’t be free on Earth. If she is violent, we will bubble her again.” Garnet folded her hands and looked to Amethyst.

“Hey, we could always use more quartzes!” Amethyst grinned.

Pearl sighed and looked at the others, then back at Steven. “Very well. Pop the bubble. But if she lashes out against us, she will be taken down immediately.”

Steven popped the bubble. The gem floated in the air before a warm pink light glowed out from it, and soon another Rose Quartz was standing in the Beach House. She wore an outfit identical to Jasper’s except with a pink diamond instead of yellow, and her arms were in a diamond salute. “Yes, My Diamond,” she began, then dropped her salute when she saw that she was not where she had been poofed. “What is this? Where am I?” She looked up at the Crystal Gems, a strand of unruly, pale pink hair falling in her face. Her eyes met with Pearl’s. “You,” she growled, reaching towards the gem on her hip. “You’re the renegade Pearl! Which means–”

Garnet’s gauntlets closed around her waist before she could finish her sentence. “She was violent,” Garnet explained as Pearl bubbled the gem.

“You didn’t even give her a chance!” Steven complained.

“Steven, this is something you should have discussed with us!” Pearl reprimanded. “Now, we are going into the Temple to figure out what to do with this. Why don’t you think about the consequences of your actions?” Pearl and Garnet strode into the temple, Pearl carrying the bubble. Amethyst looked back and gave a sympathetic wave before the door was slammed shut.

Steven stared at the closed Temple door. He had thought the gems would understand why he wanted to save the other Rose Quartzes. He had hoped Amethyst would defend him, and Pearl would be happy to have a Rose that wasn’t Steven, and Garnet would be kind to another gem just arrived on Earth. But everything was turning out just the way it had with Peridot–none of the gems wanting to accept a Homeworld Gem. And this Rose hadn’t even met them before, unlike Peridot!

Peridot. Maybe he could go talk to Peridot and Lapis and get their advice on how to deal with this situation. He left a note on the counter and walked out to the barn, thinking on the way bout how he could convince the gems to unbubble this Rose again.

Pearl had probably served somewhere under Pink Diamond, so they would have that in common. She and Amethyst were almost certainly both made on Earth. Steven wasn’t sure what Garnet would have in common with this Rose, but Garnet was the leader of the Crystal Gems, and the Crystal Gems were all about love and acceptance, right?

Steven reached the barn and found Peridot and Lapis watching Camp Pining Hearts as usual. “Peridot! Lapis!” he called.

Lapis carried Peridot down to the ground with her. “What is it, Steven?”

“I need you to help me convince the Crystal Gems to let another Rose onto the team! Or at least to tolerate her for now. It’s just like it was with you, Peridot!”

Peridot and Lapis exchanged glances, then Peridot asked, “Where did another Rose Quartz come from? Is she overcooked like Amethyst?”

“No,” Steven began, then paused, wondering if somewhere, there was another lost, overcooked quartz. He blinked, trying to concentrate, then explained, “She was on Homeworld. All the Rose Quartzes are bubbled and Yellow Diamond wants to destroy them. I wanted to save all of them, but I didn’t know how, so I just took one while Yellow was singing to Blue. The Crystal Gems were so worried about me that they didn’t notice until we got back home.”

“Impressive,” Lapis commented. “So do you want us to come with you to talk to the Crystal Gems?”

“You can if you want to, but you don’t need to,” Steven replied. “I need advice more than anything else.”

“You could bring her to us!” Peridot suggested. “We could teach her about life on Earth! Just like–never mind.”

Steven shook his head. “The Crystal Gems will never let me take her out of the Temple.”

“So smuggle her out again!” Peridot turned to Lapis. “We can have a third barn mate who doesn’t betray us!”

“The Crystal Gems will be watching me more closely.” Steven shook his head again. “She’s going to stay at my house for now. Hopefully not in my bathroom.”

Peridot shuddered, then perked up again. “What if Lapis and I come live with you for a little? Then we can help the Crystal Gems and help new Rose at the same time!”

“I’ll ask the Crystal Gems.” Steven turned to go, then looked back as he realized, “Maybe if she sees gems she doesn’t associate with the rebellion, she’ll be calmer!”

“Maybe,” Lapis replied. “Not seeing the Crystal Gems sure would’ve helped me.”

Peridot took Lapis’s hand in hers and waved at Steven as he walked away. “Good luck!”

When Steven returned to his house, the Crystal Gems were out of the temple. He reached for the doorknob then paused, hearing them talk, and decided to listen.

“She’s a Homeworld gem! She was trained to hate us! She won’t listen to reason.” This was Garnet, sounding angry enough to suggest that the argument had been going on for several minutes.

“What about P-dot?” Amethyst asked. Steven guessed that she had been arguing in favor of releasing the Rose. “She was a Homeworld gem and now she’s one of us. I mean, she even helped take down her old partner in crime!”

“Amethyst, that’s enough!” Pearl snapped. “She could be dangerous! She’s a soldier, not a technician!”

“Peridot tried to kill us, and look where she is now!” Amethyst grew louder with each word.

“Amethyst, you–” Garnet looked up, quickly removing her gauntlets as Steven walked in.

“Hey guys,” Steven greeted them, pretending not to notice the dents in the house or the way Pearl and Amethyst hastily stowed away their weapons. “I was talking to Peridot and Lapis, and they want to come meet the new Rose Quartz!”

“Steven!” Pearl shrieked, still full of rage. “That’s enough! This Rose stays bubbled!”

“Pearl, you should calm down,” Garnet suggested, cupping her hand around Pearl’s fist to try to calm her. “Go somewhere else for a little.”

Pearl snatched her hand away and marched into her room into the temple, doors slamming behind her. 

Garnet sighed, folded her hands, and looked at Steven. “So, what were you saying about Peridot and Lapis?”

“We think that if she sees Peridot and Lapis, two gems who weren’t on our side in the Gem War, she won’t get as angry! What do you think?” Steven looked from Garnet to Amethyst, waiting for one of them to approve his idea.

“I think that’s a great idea!” Amethyst exclaimed. “As long as I’m included too. Since I wasn’t in the Gem War, either!” Both Amethyst and Steven looked at Garnet.

“I believe we can give this a try. Pearl and I will be watching. Amethyst, if she becomes too violent, you must stop her.”

Amethyst grinned at Steven. “We’re going to meet your aunt!”

“Oh, and one more thing,” Garnet added. “Steven, either stay out of this or make sure your gem stays covered. She will be mad at your mother.”

Steven nodded solemnly, tucking in his shirt. “So can I go get Peridot and Lapis?”

Garnet nodded. “I will try to explain what we’ve decided to Pearl.”

Steven and Amethyst watched as the temple door closed behind her, then set off for the barn. They were going to meet another Rose Quartz.


	2. Discussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turns out Rose and Lapis have a lot in common.

“We will be watching,” Pearl reminded Steven before she and Garnet stepped into the Temple, out of sight. 

Steven nodded and looked at the other gems. “Are you ready?”

Lapis nodded solemnly, smoothing out her dress. Amethyst cracked her knuckles, ready to shapeshift. Peridot stared for a moment more at her hastily constructed “limb enhancers,” which were mostly cardboard with only the tiniest bit of metal, then gave Steven a thumbs up. Steven popped the bubble. As the Rose began to form again, Amethyst grew to standard Quartz size and Steven double checked that there was no way she’d see his gemstone. Peridot clenched her makeshift floating fists and Lapis simply watched.

“You’re the Crystal Gems!” Rose finished, before realizing the Crystal gems were nowhere to be seen. She crossed her arms. “Alright, who’s the comedian here? Where are the Crystal Gems? Where is My Diamond?”

“Your Diamond is not here at the moment,” Lapis replied, voice like that of an aristocrat, “and the Crystal Gems are being dealt with.”

Rose nodded. “Of course. Now, who are you and where are we?”

“I am Lapis Lazuli facet 3C6N, Cut 2XB. We are on Earth.”

Rose blinked. “Earth? Is the war over?”

“Yes,” Lapis Lazuli replied. “It only just finished.”

“Where are all the other Rose Quartzes?” Rose asked, looking around. “Shouldn’t they be free now that the traitor Rose has been defeated?”

“We consulted the records and you are objectively the best for our purposes, so we brought you here and not the rest of them,” Peridot explained, voice devoid of emotion. She lifted her tablet from within her sleeve and made it look like she had summoned it with her “limb enhancers.” 

“What do you need me for?” Rose asked.

“We need to, uh, interrogate this local!” Amethyst blurted, pointing at Steven. As Rose looked to Steven, Amethyst quickly shrunk back to her normal form then grew again.

Rose bent down and looked Steven in the eyes. Steven squirmed as she examined him like a scientist ready to dissect a specimen. His gem seemed to be vibrating oddly, and he hoped she didn’t notice. There was no way he could stop it without drawing attention to it.

Rose pulled back and announced, “I detect another Rose Quartz! Where is she?”

The gems looked nervous, and Steven knew that inside the temple, Pearl and Garnet were preparing to come save them from her. “You-you must be mistaken,” Lapis stuttered. “The other Roses are on homeworld!”

Rose closed her eyes and her gem glowed. She took a breath and glared at the gems. “You lied. The traitor Rose is here. What is happening?”

“We can explain!” Peridot insisted, setting her tablet down on the table.

Rose pulled an axe from her gem. “You tricked me! You need to explain!”

Steven and Amethyst glanced at each other and at the temple door. It was beginning to open. Silently, the two made their plan. They joined hands and fused into Smoky Quartz, yo-yo at the ready.

“The local is a gem?” Rose scowled. “This is getting better and better.” She lifted her axe and prepared to strike at them when Pearl and Garnet came racing out of the temple.

Smoky swung their yo-yo around Rose, poofing her. “I’m sorry,” they muttered, looking up at Pearl and then spin-dashing out of the temple, Rose’s gem in hand. Lapis, and Peridot ran after them, Lapis taking Smoky’s hand as soon as the fusion had stopped spinning. Peridot grabbed Lapis’s foot as she took off.

“Steven!” Pearl shrieked. “You’re grounded!”

“Steven isn’t here!” Smoky yelled back before they disappeared from Pearl’s view.

“So what,” Peridot panted, “are we going to do about Rose?”

“We should tell her the truth,” Smoky replied, “and see how she reacts.”

“What if she gets mad at us?” Peridot winced as Lapis accidentally kicked her.

“She has every right to be,” Lapis replied. “She’s been captured by who she perceives as the enemy. She’s been lied to. She’ll find out that we could’ve rescued her this whole time but we didn’t, and we could’ve rescued her friends but we left them trapped. Without their diamond. In a war where they were just trying to help.”

“Sounds like you two will get along well,” Peridot called, tightening her grip on Lapis’s foot and gulping when she saw the ground rising up towards them. Lapis hovered for a moment to let Peridot down, then landed and let go of Smoky’s hand. Smoky passed the bubbled Rose Quartz to Lapis before unfusing.

Amethyst summoned her whip. “Maybe we should restrain her.”

“It’ll only make her angrier,” Peridot objected.

“It’s for our safety. I don’t like it, but it’s for the best. Get ready.” Lapis popped the bubbled and Rose reformed inside the confines of Amethyst’s whip.

“You rebels love messing with me, don’t you?” Rose glared at them but made no attempt to fight.

“We can explain!” Steven exclaimed.

“It better be a good explanation.” Rose awkwardly crossed her arms, stretching the whip.

“We lied,” Lapis began. “The war is over.”

“Your diamond is dead,” Peridot interrupted.

“What?” Rose stiffened. “Who could possibly kill My Diamond?”

“My mom,” Steven confessed, lifting his shirt to reveal his gem.

Rose narrowed her eyes. “Are you some kind of… fusion?”

Steven shook his head. “My mom was the Crystal Gem Rose Quartz.”

Rose drew back, eyes wide again. “I knew you were the Crystal Gems! But what do you mean, your mom?”

Steven hesitated, not sure how to explain. “My mom fell in love with a human, who’s now my dad. They, well, uh, my mom became pregnant and gave up her physical form for me!”

“So Rebel really did love humans too much.” Rose looked off into the distance, apparently remembering something.

“Rebel?” Peridot asked, not sure if she was interrupting.

“Our nickname for the founder of the Crystal Gems,” Rose explained. “So the war is over, My Diamond is dead, Rebel messed up having a gemling with a human–”

“A what?” Amethyst interrupted.

“Antiquated method of gem reproduction,” Peridot replied. “From before the Kindergartens were up and running.”

Rose ignored them continuing, “–And by the looks of this planet, the rebels won the war!”

“Yes, they did,” Steven confirmed.

“So where are all the other Roses? Tell me the truth.”

“They’re still bubbled near the Zoo. Yellow Diamond wants to destroy them, which is why I saved you.”

“And you left the rest of them _trapped_ there?” Rose eyes widened and she strained against her bonds. “You left them to _die _?”__

__“I had no way to free them all!” Steven protested, summoning his shield._ _

__Peridot stepped in. “If you don’t attack us, we can build a spaceship together to go free them! How does that sound?”_ _

__“And if you don’t cooperate,” Lapis added, lifting some water into a rather threatening fist, “we may decide it’s better not to have to deal with explaining all this to the others.”_ _

__Rose looked at her, eyebrows raised. “I can’t believe I’m being threatened by a technician, a landscaper, a malfunctioned gemling, and–what even is that?”_ _

__“I’m an Amethyst!” Amethyst crossed her arms over her chest, defensive. “I just stayed in the ground too long!”_ _

__“I can see that,” Rose snorted. She eyed the four again. “I guess I have to agree not to fight you. So, where are you going to interrogate me next?”_ _

__“We were going to take you to the Crystal Gems,” Amethyst replied, looking at the sky, “but it appears they’ve come to us.”_ _

__Steven formed his bubble around everyone just in time to stop Sardonyx’s hammer from hitting them._ _


	3. Old Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl can't help seeing the old Rose in everything the new Rose does.

To Sardonyx, it seemed like everything slowed down as the Rose looked up at them. She looked so much like their Rose Quartz had before the rebellion–wild hair, Homeworld uniform that never seemed to fit. Sardonyx began to unfuse, so caught up in her train of thought, then pulled herself back together. Her job was to protect Steven (and Amethyst, she supposed, but Steven was the priority). Now, why on Earth was Steven stopping her from doing her job?

Sardonyx pulled herself to her feet, then crouched down on her knees–she had formed at a gigantic size for maximum Rose-squashing capabilities. Sugilite would have been better for this, for smashing, but Amethyst was definitely going to get in as much trouble as Steven.

Inside the bubble, everyone was nervous. Peridot gripped Lapis’s arm and Amethyst summoned a second whip, just in case Steven’s bubble broke. Steven focused on maintaining the bubble and watched Rose as she looked Sardonyx up and down. Sardonyx didn’t seem like her usual dramatic self. For one thing, she hadn’t laughed at all since Steven had formed the bubble. She seemed to be making a decision. Finally, she picked the bubble up.

Lapis summoned her water wings and hovered, staying in one place. Peridot began to slip but grabbed Lapis’s arm just in time, then watched Steven, Amethyst, and Rose all tumble toward the bottom of the sphere. Steven and Amethyst hopped up immediately and Rose remained on her stomach, trapped by the whip. Sardonyx slowly turned the bubble and everyone inside rocked back and forth.

“STEVEN!” Sardonyx bellowed, sounding a bit more like Garnet than usual. “OPEN THE BUBBLE SO WE CAN TALK!”

“I will if you promise not to hurt Rose,” Steven yelled back.

“CAN YOU PUT US DOWN?” Peridot interrupted.

Sardonyx sighed and placed the bubble on the ground. “Fine. We will not hurt Rose.”

Steven prepared to drop the bubble then paused. “Can you unfuse, too? It’ll make this conversation easier.”

In response, Garnet and Pearl fell from the sky. “Please open the bubble, Steven,” Garnet requested.

Steven released the bubble and looked between Pearl, Garnet, and Rose. “Rose, these are the Crystal Gems.”

“I can tell,” Rose replied drily. “Where are the rest of them?”

“Not here,” Garnet replied, nudging Pearl. Pearl was staring at Rose and seemed as if she was in some kind of trance.

“So, are you going to release me?” Rose asked. “Since I promised to cooperate and all that?”

Pearl blinked. “I’ll untie you!” she offered in a voice that seemed higher than normal.

“I’ve got it.” Amethyst tapped her whip and it disappeared. Pearl appeared to slump.

Rose closed her eyes, stretched out her arms and ran her fingers through her long, nearly white hair. As she opened her eyes again, Pearl could’ve sworn they were fixed on hers. They were so, so sparkly, just like the old Rose Quartz. As Rose began to speak, Pearl couldn't help staring at her full lips. They were so, so–

Garnet subtly punched Pearl. Hard. “What do you think, Pearl?”

“Uhh…” Pearl hadn't been listening, but she couldn't show that. “Uh… it sounds like a great idea!”

“Really?” Rose asked, a perfect eyebrow curving down over one of her sparkling eyes. “You're willing to risk being caught by the Diamonds?”

“I'll do anything for you, I mean, the Crystal Gems!”

In the back, Lapis facepalmed. Next to her was Peridot, who looked both taller and less neon than normal. Weird, but Pearl wasn’t focused on those two. She looked back to Rose, who was watching Peridot. Peridot was talking, Pearl realized. “What do you say, Pearl?”

“Um, alright.”

“Great! Let’s get started!” Peridot began to head into the barn and Pearl reluctantly followed.

“What are we going to do while they work?” Rose asked.

“We could help Peridot and Pearl,” Steven suggested.

Garnet grabbed Rose and Steven’s shoulders. “You two are staying here. Amethyst and Lapis, go join the construction team.” Amethyst and Lapis nodded and shuffled away.

“Now what?” Steven asked.

Rose held up a hand. “First, I want a full history lesson on what’s happened since I was bubbled.”

“Pearl would be good for that,” Steven began, but Garnet stopped him from finding the construction team.

“I’m sure we can explain things fine just the two of us,” Garnet replied, adjusting her visor. She turned to Rose and began. “After you were bubbled…”

…

“Pearl. Pearl!” Peridot prodded the tall gem with one of her floating fingers. Pearl hadn’t budged in at least five minutes and was just staring off into the distance.

“Let’s put her to sleep and watch her project her dreams,” Amethyst suggested, poking Pearl as well.

Lapis slammed a wave into Pearl’s face and she finally moved, wiping her wet hair out of her eyes. “Sorry?”

“Please pass the screwdriver.” Peridot pointed to the tool on the other side of Pearl.

“Right.” Pearl handed it over. 

“What are we going to do with Homeworld’s entire set of Rose Quartzes?” Lapis asked, drilling together two metal plates.

“I know what she wants to do.” Amethyst prodded Pearl again.

Pearl blinked. “We’ll move the Roses into the barn or the temple.”

“Temple,” Lapis interrupted. “The barn is full.”

“I don’t know,” Peridot replied, “there’s always room for more barnmates!”

“They’ll be fine in the temple.” Pearl reached for a hammer, still appearing to be in a sort of trance.

“They can stay in my room,” Amethyst offered. “It’ll be the Quartz Resort!”

“What if they don’t want such a messy environment?” Pearl asked, frowning.

“Maybe we can build more barns! Rose barns!” Peridot gestured excitedly with her screwdriver, accidentally launching the tip at Lapis, who sent it back in a bubble of water.

“Maybe Steven will let them share his room in the temple,” Lapis suggested. “It’s not like he’s in it that often.”

“Rose’s room can be very dangerous!” Pearl snapped. “We wouldn’t want them to build an army!”

“They’re already an army,” Amethyst pointed out. “Rose Quartz soldiers.”

“I still think we should build barns!” Peridot added.

Amethyst nodded. “Remember when Peri was our biggest threat? If we give the Roses nice barns, they’ll be on our side in no time!”

“They’ll already be grateful for being freed,” Pearl predicted.

“Or they might be angry that we left them trapped there for so long after we could’ve freed them.” Lapis traced her hand over her gem, feeling where the cracks used to be.

“We knew about you longer than we knew about them,” Amethyst assured her. “They won’t be as mad.”

Pearl looked away. “Actually, uh, we first heard about them right around the time of the shattering. Rose wanted to save them but there wasn’t time.”

Lapis resumed working on her part of the spaceship. “If they’re so angry that they destroy the town, you can’t say I didn’t warn you.”

A tense silence fell over the construction team, filled only by the tap of a hammer against metal. Slowly, the building resumed, and everyone tried to figure out how to continue the conversation. Finally, Steven skipped in, lightening the mood. 

“Hi, construction team! Wow, how big is this ship going to be?” Steven’s eyes widened as he took in the giant pile of building materials and the large scale of what had already been built.

“It needs to fit all the Rose Quartzes, so we used Amethyst shapeshifted as a model to project how much room we need,” Peridot explained.

“Pearl didn’t think it needed to be this big,” Amethyst added. “I’m sure she wanted it to be tiny.”

“Amethyst!” Pearl glared at the purple gem, then looked back at Steven. “I only wanted to conserve our resources.” All the other gems looked skeptical.

“Well, can I help you build?” Steven offered. “Get this done faster?”

Peridot held out a tool. “Take a drill.”

With that, construction resumed, slightly less awkward because Steven was there.


End file.
